Of First Meetings and Gunfights
by IsobelTheroux
Summary: Set in the beginning of SR2. Kaiya's only looking for another member for the Saints. She certainly doesn't expect to find a beautiful, young woman who she is instantly attracted to. Rated for violence and cursing


Kaiya sighed as she glanced at the map thrown across the passenger seat of her car. She had never been good at reading maps, she always relied on her memory of landmarks and buildings, but everything about Stillwater had changed and she was having trouble adjusting. Trying to find anything in the damn city was an adventure, one she wasn't all that thrilled to be having.

All Kaiya wanted was something familiar. To be back on the Row, Johnny and the rest of the Saints there, blowing up shit or taking out a rival gang. Some normalcy, that didn't seem like too much to ask. She wanted more than anything for all of this, Lin's death and Troy and Julius's betrayals, to have just been a screwed up dream. But this was something she couldn't wake up from.

It wasn't just the sights that had changed either, all of Stillwater was different. The people, the buildings, hell, even their old hideout was a fucking tourist attraction. The only thing that seemed to stay the same was the violence. Sure the gang names were different but at the end of the day they were just more assholes to take out.

First though, she needed to get a gang together. After Julius betrayed them, the Saints had fallen apart. Johnny had eventually gotten thrown in prison, they had no idea where the hell Dex was and everyone else had either been busted by Troy, was dead or had drifted apart.

Johnny had given her the names of a few likely allies, people he had met in prison. She had already recruited Carlos, the mechanic who had helped her break out of prison, and a guy named Pierce who seemed like he'd fit in nicely. She was currently on her way to meet up with the last person on her list, a woman named Shaundi. She honestly had no idea what to expect from her, all Johnny had told her was that she had been busted for drugs.

Kaiya took a left, looking at the houses around her. She was in a small suburban neighborhood, not too far from Aisha's but not as nice. The buildings weren't as large and the cars parked outside them were cheaper. She saw several people outside their houses sitting in cheap plastic lawn chairs, clearly either drunk or stoned. She checked the address she'd written down one final time. Driving slowly, she spotted it, a small brick house with a muscle car parked outside and a petite woman leaning against it.

As Kaiya pulled into the driveway she studied the woman, wondering if she was Shaundi. If so she was younger than Kaiya would have imagined. She was at least two or three years younger than Kaiya herself. Her long brown dreadlocks were pushed off her face with a purple bandanna and a pretty smile graced her lips. _Well she's already in purple,_ Kaiya thought, amused, stepping out of her vehicle.

The woman moved away from the car and walked towards her. "Hey, I'm Shaundi. I assume you're the one Gat was talking about?" Her voice was a bit scratchy, but pleasing to the ear.

As Kaiya looked at her more closely she realized Johnny had failed to mention how beautiful Shaundi was, and that she was exactly Kaiya's type. Though knowing Gat, she had a suspicion he'd done that on purpose. Pulling herself away from that thought, she nodded, "That's right, the Saints are in need of some new lieutenants. I heard you were interested."

"I might be, but first let's see what you can do in that," she motioned to the car, already moving to the passenger side.

"Wait, seriously? That's all you want? Me to drive you around a little? You don't want to do something a little more impressive?" After Pierce wanting to fuck up some Ronin and Carlos making her help him tow a car she had been expecting a little more.

Shaundi shrugged, "What can I say, I like to party. So you drive some, do a few jumps, and then we'll talk about the Saints." Smirking, she gestured to the car, "So, are we doing this?"

Well it wasn't as if she had many other options. And besides, it could be fun, she considered, looking over at Shaundi. Kaiya shrugged, "Why the hell not."

Kaiya held her breath as the car practically flew off the final ramp, quickly sailing through the air. She spared a glance over at Shaundi, amused with her satisfied grin. She looked back at the road just as the car's front tires hit the ground, jolting the women inside. Kaiya slowed a little and turned left, starting the drive back to Shaundi's house.

"So what do you think?" She had hit all of the jumps perfectly and somehow managed not to flip her car when she landed, but was that enough to convince Shaundi to join the Saints? The drive to the ramps had been quiet and Kaiya still didn't have a handle on what Shaundi's deal was. Glancing up at her mirror, Kaiya was startled to see three bright yellow cars speeding after them. "Shit." Thinking fast, she looked over at Shaundi, "You any good with a gun?"

"I've never had much practice, why do you-" her question was cut off as the Ronin started to fire at them, the bullets startlingly loud. Several shots hit the back of the car and another hit Kaiya's side mirror, shattering the glass and the plastic frame.

"Because we've got company. Do me a favor, there's a gun in the glove compartment, try to kill some of these assholes for me."

"Sure thing." As Shaundi slid partially out the window and fired back at them, Kaiya focused on driving. She carefully weaved her way in between cars trying to lose the Ronin. She moved through back alleys, took random turns, and at one point was driving on the wrong side of the road. No matter where she drove or how fast she went, their pursuers showed no signs of stopping.

Another of the Ronin's shots hit close, flying past Kaiya's ear. The bullet flew through the windshield cracking it and causing the glass to fracture around the shot. _Better and better,_ she though grimly. The car lurched and Kaiya heaved a sigh as she realized one of the back tires must have been blown out. "Fucking figures," she muttered angrily. She struggled to control the skidding vehicle but after several tense minutes she gave up. "Shaundi, get back in here."

Sliding back into the car Shaundi looked over at Kaiya, "What's the plan, Boss?"

 _Boss, I like the sound of that,_ Kaiya thought absently. "We jump out, surprise them and then we finish killing these bastards."

"No offense, but that's the stupidest plan I've ever heard. Jumping out of a moving vehicle? That's pretty bad."

"You're gonna have to have a little faith in me if this is gonna work out, you know." Kaiya knew it wasn't much of a plan but she was used to being told what to do, not leading others. Killing people, that's what she was good at, not strategy.

"You're lucky the weed I smoked earlier hasn't worn off yet."

"That could explain why you're such a lousy shot." Kaiya was only half joking, Shaundi had only managed to kill the driver of one car, leaving two more. They would need to work on her aim later. Assuming they both made it out of this. "You ready?"

A flicker of uncertainty showed on Shaundi's face but she quickly covered it up. "Let's do this."

Taking a deep breath Kaiya lept from the car, raising her arms to protect her face. The air was knocked out of her as she hit the ground rolling. She had tried to brace herself but it was no good, she was moving too fast. In a brief moment she realized what a moronic idea this had been. She would be lucky if she and Shaundi survived at all.

Gradually she lost speed and slid to a stop. She wasted no time as she dragged herself to her feet, head spinning as she reached for the gun in the waistband of her jeans. Miraculously it was still there, but as she touched it a jolt of pain went through her hand. Pulling it back she realized somewhere along the way she had broken the trigger finger on her right hand. It stuck out at an odd painful angle and she cursed, realizing she would have to shoot with her left. It wouldn't be impossible but it would be difficult.

Checking her body over further she saw the knee of her jeans had been torn and blood was seeping through the thick fabric. Her arms had small cuts in several places but considering everything she felt lucky. She silently hoped Shaundi had been lucky as well. She had to hurry up and find her. The Ronin wouldn't waste any time turning around to finish what they'd started.

She glanced up and down the streets for Shaundi. "Shit." She spotted her lying face down several yards down the road, not moving. She ran over to the other woman and breathed a sigh of relief as she noticed she her chest moving.

Turning over slightly Shaundi looked up at her. "That was a wild ride, huh Boss?" A dazed expression crossed her face as she squinted up at Kaiya. She noticed a few cuts on Shaundi's arms, a small gash on her forehead and she would definitely have bruises later, but nothing was too bad.

"That's an understatement." Offering her hand she helped Shaundi to her feet and not a moment too soon. Bullets pounded into the ground in front of her and she briefly raised her eyes to spot the shooter. A young Asian woman was crouched beside her car, reloading the smg in her hand. A katana strapped to the back of her bright yellow jacket caught the light, glinting dangerously. Turning around, Kaiya grabbed Shaundi's arm and quickly led her to cover. They dove behind a parked car, more bullets ricocheting off the metal as the other Ronin car slide to a stop near the first and started firing.

"How many do you think there are?" Shaundi asked breathlessly. She swiped her hand across her forehead, smearing a track of blood above her left eye.

Kaiya checked that her gun's clip was fully loaded before saying, "Four maybe, if there were only two per car. Most likely more though. Eight if there were four in each car." She couldn't help herself, counting her enemies had become an obsessive habit. It wasn't a bad trait to have she supposed but she was annoyed with her minor ocd.

She tossed a spare clip to Shaundi. Checking her pockets she realized she had lost her phone somewhere. _Great,_ she thought, _no calling Gat for backup if they bring in reinforcements. Looks like we're doing this alone._

"I hope you have a better plan this time." Shaundi fumbled as she tried to figure out how to reload her weapon. Kaiya took the gun from her hand and pointed out the cartridge's release button. After reloading, she handed the gun back. "Thanks, Boss."

"Sure thing." _Why does she keep calling me that,_ Kaiya wondered. "Look, I'll be honest there's no plan here. We just keep shooting till they're dead. Oh, and keep your head down, okay? Wouldn't want you to lose that pretty face."

Kaiya saw Shaundi's smirk just before she moved her head out of cover, firing a few bullets off. One took a Ronin in the leg, another just barely missed the smg girl's head. Kaiya swiftly ducked behind cover once again just in time to see Shaundi lean out and fire off three rounds.

When Shaundi swung herself back into cover she grinned at Kaiya. "Got one."

"Don't get cocky just yet we've still got more friends left." As if to emphasize her point a grenade came rolling by Kaiya's foot. She swore and grabbed it, launching it back over to the Ronin. It landed next to one of their cars and exploded. The blast took out two more Ronin and sent shards of metal and glass raining down around the rest.

Shaundi shot Kaiya an appreciating look that made her almost blush. Kaiya quickly turned her head, though Shaundi hadn't seemed to notice."Together now?" she asked, nodding towards the ongoing fight.

"On three," Kaiya agreed. "One...two..." On three, the women both stood up and started firing at the three remaining Ronin. Shaundi's bullets went wide of her target, but managed to hit the man behind him. A lucky break, Kaiya thought, firing her own gun and finally taking out the smg girl. She and Shaundi both aimed at the last remaining man as he ran for cover. Their bullets tore through him, sending his body flying forward.

She and Shaundi were looking at each other grinning, happy, yet exhausted as Kaiya heard it. The loud bang of a gun going off. She pushed Shaundi to the ground, her heart pounding. She saw red, blood on her hands and shirt, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. She looked over at Shaundi and saw her hunched over, clutching her arm. A strong sense of rage washed over her as she stood up recklessly, looking for the shooter.

She couldn't see where the shot came from, couldn't find the shooter until she remembered the man she shot in the leg. She hadn't even thought about finishing him, after he stopped moving she assumed he was dead from the shock or loss of blood. She moved angrily, striding over to where he was lying on the ground.

He tried to push himself up, but it was clear the blood loss was taking it's toll. As he raised his gun she placed her boot on his wrist, forcing it painfully down. She ground her boot into his flesh, ignoring his pleads for mercy until she felt the bone snap. He gasped and she grinned wickedly, relishing the feeling of control as she pointed her gun at him. She stared down, taking in the pained look on his face, the sweat beading his brow, the way he was wriggling, trying in vain to free himself. _Pathetic._ She rolled her eyes, and pulled the trigger, the bullet tearing through his skull and sending a large spatter of blood on the asphalt.

Kaiya jumped as a hand touched her arm, raising her gun on instinct. Shaundi looked at her, concern on her face. "Are you okay? You kinda lost it there." She was holding her arm as blood dripped down it, landing on the ground in fat droplets.

Lowering her weapon, Kaiya looked at her incredulously. "You were the one that got hit, and you're asking me if I'm okay? Unbelievable." She wasn't sure about her reaction herself, but there was something about Shaundi that made Kaiya want to protect her.

"I'm fine it just grazed me. Nothing a few stitch's and a joint can't fix, right Boss?"

Sighing, Kaiya asked, "Why do you keep calling me Boss?" Not that she minded, actually it sounded right.

"Well you never told me your real name. Besides I figure you're kinda my Boss now." Shaundi looked at her and grinned. She had a beautiful smile, Kaiya thought. The kind that lit up her face and made Kaiya want to smile back. Clearing her throat she looked away quickly. _It's been way too long,_ she thought.

"Kaiya." She whispered it softly. She hadn't said her name in so long it felt odd to say it out loud. It had been a long time since anyone had bothered to ask, and longer still since Kaiya had given her real name. The fact that it hadn't even occurred to her to lie was baffling.

"Hm?" Shaundi looked at her, confusion written on her face. "Didn't catch that."

She looked back over at Shaundi. "My name," she said, glad that her voice came out strong. "It's Kaiya."


End file.
